Miao He dragged her injured body backward, finally reaching Xu Mu’s side, where she finally let out a sigh of relief.
She had sparred with Xu Mu before, and in terms of sheer pressure, Xu Mu was far stronger than the Zhou Xing standing before them.
“I have friends in the Tianjian Sect as well,” Xu Mu said with a smile, looking at Zhou Xing.
“Say it then, let me hear it,” Zhou Xing replied arrogantly, his long sword slung behind his back.
“Have you heard of Dai Xingluo?” Xu Mu asked.
“Dai Xingluo?” Zhou Xing’s lips curled into a slight smirk. “I actually do know her.”
“Then, can you spare this woman for her sake?” Xu Mu looked at Zhou Xing, asking.
“Sure,” Zhou Xing grinned broadly. “But I have one condition—you bring her here so I can see just how deep her connections really run.”
Xu Mu’s eyes narrowed into slits as he heard this. “Old Chen, protect her.”
“Got it!” Chen Xuan nodded and stood firmly beside Miao He.
Xu Mu then opened his storage space and took out a dagger, stepping toward Zhou Xing.
“What? Is she your goddess or something? Fine, I don’t want her. You can even call your mom over,” Zhou Xing sneered at Xu Mu’s approach, his smile dripping with disdain. “Junior brothers, this loser is all yours.”
He stabbed his long sword into the ground and watched silently.
After all, Zhou Xing thought, Xu Mu was just a mere outer disciple—what kind of figure could he be?
“Third Senior Brother, leave this guy to me,” a slightly chubby man holding a short sword stepped forward with a beaming smile. “Give me two seconds, and I’ll have him kneeling.”
Whoosh!
The man stomped on the ground and rapidly closed in on Xu Mu.
But Xu Mu’s expression remained unchanged as he simply moved straight toward him.
Slash!
The man appeared right beside Xu Mu, but before he could strike, he suddenly felt a chill at his waist.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed out like a fountain as he collapsed to the ground, sliding nearly ten meters before coming to a stop.
Because of his speed, onlookers thought he had simply tripped and fallen.
But the blood gushing from his waist proved he had been attacked.
Zhou Xing’s eyes darkened as he pulled his sword from the ground once again.
Several men behind him drew their weapons in unison.
“Mu, be careful! They’re planning to overwhelm you with numbers!” Chen Xuan warned.
“Dust is dust—whether it’s one grain or ten, it’s hard to tell with the naked eye,” Xu Mu said calmly, now only seven or eight meters away from Zhou Xing.
“You brat! You think you’re confident just because you injured an ordinary disciple?” Zhou Xing sneered coldly as green light flickered over his body. “Falling Leaf Slash!”
Whoosh!
A blade of green energy shot toward Xu Mu.
With a roar of rushing air, countless falling leaves surged forward, blocking Xu Mu’s vision.
“Attack! Kill him!” Zhou Xing shouted to the disciples behind him.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several disciples moved in unison, charging toward Xu Mu’s position.
But as they passed through the cascade of leaves, they found Xu Mu’s figure had vanished.
Not only them, but Chen Xuan and Miao He also stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Squelch!
Squelch!
…
At that moment, a terrifying scene unfolded.
Almost simultaneously, these people began to bleed profusely, collapsing to the ground with grievous wounds—but strangely, there was no one to be seen.
Zhou Xing’s eyes widened in horror as he frantically scanned his surroundings, but there was not a single shadow in sight.
Whoosh!
A dagger suddenly plunged into his neck.
Xu Mu’s voice came from behind him, calm and cold, “Trouble comes from the mouth—remember that next life.”
“You little brat! Die!”
Zhou Xing transformed his fear into fury, struggling fiercely to break free and spun around to strike back.
Clang!
A sharp, crisp sound rang out. Zhou Xing stared in disbelief.
Xu Mu caught the blade with one hand.
With his other hand, he extended a single finger, pointing directly in front of Zhou Xing.
Bang!
A longsword, smooth and fluid like flowing water, pierced through Zhou Xing’s chest.
“You…”
Zhou Xing’s eyes were filled with unwillingness as his body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
In the distance, Miao He and Chen Xuan both stood there, dumbfounded.
They hadn’t expected Xu Mu to be so powerful.
The other was a sect disciple, even at the Divine Ability realm, yet in front of Xu Mu, he didn’t even have a chance to resist.
Xu Mu’s words had been right—dust like this, no matter how much more came, was harmless.
“Damn! That’s kinda cool!”
Chen Xuan’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
His medical skills were already impressive, but his combat ability was just as formidable.
Miao He had originally thought Xu Mu was just an average early Divine Ability expert.
Now, she realized she had been utterly wrong—dead wrong.
She pressed her hands together, and butterflies once again fluttered from her body.
These butterflies, sharp as blades in flight, slaughtered everyone still alive on the ground.
Xu Mu frowned slightly upon seeing this but said nothing.
This was the way of the ancient martial world’s battles, especially inside ruins.
Countless lives were sacrificed in the fight for treasures.
“Don’t blame me for being ruthless—this is how ancient martial artists settle scores,” Miao He said, looking at Xu Mu. “If you let them live, your sect will hunt you down.”
Xu Mu nodded. “I understand.”
Miao He took a black medicine bottle from her body and poured its contents onto the corpses.
In no time, the bodies were consumed by the black substance.
The butterflies swarmed again, devouring the black parasites entirely.
“Why are you here?” Xu Mu asked after everything was over.
“My people have been near the sanitation department for days now,” Miao He said, pointing to the area. “To avoid detection, we’ve been using different vehicles almost every day.”
“I noticed the sanitation workers come here daily.”
“You’re smart,” Xu Mu said, lowering his gaze to the torn black silk on Miao He’s leg, stained with fresh blood. “Can you make it back on your own?”
“Yes,” Miao He nodded.
“Then I won’t see you off. We still need to find the entrance to the ruins,” Xu Mu said.
“I’ve already found the entrance,” Miao He said, pointing to her injured leg. “This wound wasn’t caused by that guy just now—it’s from the trap at the ruins’ entrance.”
Xu Mu looked at Chen Xuan incredulously. What were the chances of encountering something like this?
But he remembered that Miao He was a Level 9 Fate—her luck, though far from Chen Xuan’s, was still extraordinary.
“Mu Ge, shall we go?” Chen Xuan asked from the side.
“No, places like this are usually fraught with danger. We have to be fully prepared.”
Xu Mu glanced at his phone. It was already afternoon. “Let’s rest tonight and set off tomorrow.”
“Then tomorrow it is.”
Chen Xuan agreed; after all, he had never been to a ruin before, and Xu Mu had more experience.
...
Not long after Xu Mu and the others left Lihua Village, Fang Chu appeared there.
Seeing the vehicles parked in the village, he knew he was in the right place.
Yesterday, at the Nangong residence, he had been very curious about this location.
The other party was so powerful yet was asking about this place. Fang Chu figured there must be some opportunity here.
He entered the forest outside Lihua Village and headed inward.
Soon, he encountered two men dressed in black robes walking toward him.
He approached and asked, “Gentlemen, may I ask if there’s something on this mountain?”
“Who are you? Why the hell should I tell you?” one of the black-robed men sneered.
“I’m Fang Chu, descendant of the Fang family, an ancient hidden clan,” Fang Chu replied.
“Fang Chu? The Fang Chu from Yang City a few days ago?” the other black-robed man asked.
“Not just a few days ago—I’ve been active in Yang City recently,” Fang Chu smiled, surprised that he was somewhat well-known.
Suddenly, one of the black-robed men stretched out his hand, aiming straight for Fang Chu’s heart.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
